Sew a Simple Chic Crossbody Purse

We are into month four of my new years resolution! It feels good to be completing this every month. If you haven't read about my resolution for this year, that is 2012, I plan to stitch one new quilt block every month. The concept for this year is that by making one quilt block every month, I will have a total of 12 blocks by the end of the year, ready to be sewn together into a new quilt. And moving forward, I have this months quilt block ready to share with you!

For this month's block, my fourth block in the series, I go back to sewing with scraps. This is a free form block, no joints to match up, no triangle edges that need to remain sharp. This is a very easy to build it as you go block, that will use up all and any of the fabric scraps you have accumulated. Yes, even that tiny 1by 3 inch block of print. I love finding ways to incorporate scraps, and this months block, was built mainly out of bits and pieces left over from the first three blocks, not much cutting was involved. This is basically a string block, built on the diagonal.

To begin, collect or trim scrap fabrics to measure 1, 1.5, 2.25 inches (+seam allowances) in width. They can each be of varying length.

Join same width fabrics to form a long strip. Butt the joints, or join them on the diagonal. Some strips can be long some shorter. It will all work.

Arrange these strips as seen in the photo below. We are building a square, with these strips laying along the diagonal. Place your longest strip in the center, and place the shorter ones above and below it.

Pin the strips, and sew them together. Once they are all stitched together, you should end up with something that looks like this.

To make a 8.5 by 8.5 inch square block, place the Fiskars acrylic block on top, making sure to align the center diagonals and trim using the Rotary Cutter